Meet the New Delhi, right by the Old Delhi

New Delhi was crazy.

No, not like that.  That's rude.  You shouldn't talk about people like that.  Besides, that bright red henna look was really common in India.

More like... this!

HOLY CRAP!

Thank goodness there are rules in at least SOME of the city, like on their very nice Metro system.  There are womens' only carriages on the train, and if you're a woman and the train is crowded, may I strongly recommend you use them? For reals.

We had a really fascinating couple of days in Delhi.  We hit up a few of the biggie tourist sites, like the Red Fort (which paled a bit next to the jaw-dropping forts of Rajasthan).  

I've neglected to mention this in our India posts thus far, but almost every attraction had a separate tourist window (and separate tourist prices, which could sometimes be literally 100x the price for Indians).  In Agra, buying the foreigner's ticket, or what they called the "high-value" ticket, meant we got a free water bottles and booties to wear over our shoes when we went into the monument.

Logan being a foreigner. He has a real knack.

We also went to Hanuman's Tomb, which was an architectural inspiration for... aw, guess.  Yup - totally the Taj Mahal!

And Dilli Haat Market, which has handicraft stalls from all over India.  We promised ourselves we wouldn't buy anything and totally failed at THAT resolution.  It's also a great place to eat - there are little restaurants serving the foods of all the regions of the country, too!

This family's patchwork was super fun.

Also we ate many tasty things, including our first pani puri.  These little spicy water-filled fried treats had been on our list for quite some time, but most of the street vendors we saw selling them seemed a bit... rough on our Western stomachs, perhaps?  These guys were scrupulously clean and used mineral water, so face stuffing ensued. 

I think what we enjoyed the most, though, was our afternoon tour with Rahul.  Rahul is a cycle rickshaw driver who came highly recommended by Pamela at Eat and Dust, whose terrific Delhi food blog was a wonderful resource. (Rahul's number is +919 871 533849, if you are in Delhi and want to hire him.)

Rahul took us through the crowded streets of Old Delhi, where it's really nice to be in a cycle-rickshaw - nobody tries to drag you into their shops!

This wasn't even rush hour.

He also took us places we never would have visited on our own, like a Sikh temple in Old Delhi.  

Hot meals are available here 24 hours a day, and the place is entirely staffed by volunteers. Thousands of people will drop by in any given day to pray and eat and lend a hand, whether they are poor or rich.

Here's a man making huge batches of sweet halwa.

Logan stepped in (in his mandated head-covering) to help with the roti-flipping for a bit.

The scale of this operation was massive!  Every time we turned a corner, a different stage of the meal was taking shape; vegetables were being chopped, plates cleaned, and there was a huge hall where people ate rice and dal and sabzi (veg) off of metal trays.

The people who clean the dishes scrape any leftovers into piles, which are fed to animals.

Seriously amazing.

Rahul also took us to the wholesale spice market area, where the smells were... well, we've been in a lot of markets on this trip, and the Delhi spice market blew them all away.  We were riding the cycle rickshaw down the street yelling at each other - "Clove!" "Pepper! (cough)" "Is that... cardamom?" "AUGH diesel fuel!" 

The market was riveting and tremendously crowded.  Here's a peek:

We knew much of what we were looking at,

but there were some real surprises!  Rahul said these mosses and algaes and herbs and barks are used for various garam masala.  I want that spice mix.

We walked up a completely dark back staircase and then another series of steps with no handrail to reach this view of Delhi.  It's much more relaxing to be above the city than down amongst it, dodging and weaving.  I did admire the triple- and quadruple-parked vehicles.

At this market, they sell huge amounts of everything, but Logan wanted to buy just a teeny packet of areca nut.  Rahul took us to a shop across from the main mosque (which was closed, so we couldn't visit it).

Areca nut is a mild stimulant that, along with lots of other ingredients, makes up the Indian obsession called paan.  We posted about one kind of paan that Logan tried in Mysore.  You can see evidence of paan everywhere; shops sell prepared packets every few feet, men's teeth are stained a bright red (or brown) and there is paan spit EVERYWHERE.  It made me cringe.  Gross!  And unhealthy, too, especially now that there is a totally drug-resistant tuberculosis out there!

Paan aftermath.

Um, hey, on that note, thanks, Delhi!  You were super neat and crazy, and we liked you a lot.  Thanks to you and Rahul for showing us a good time!

Comments

[Marynmck]

Ha! Thanks for the TB nod. Hope it wasn't too nervous-making. The spit everywhere, I agree... gah.

[Su-Lin]

I'm just catching up with your adventures now - I'm loving your posts! Can't wait till you start blogging about China!

[Boots in the Oven]

Maryn, we didn't lose *too* much sleep... until I got really sick in China and was all IT'S GOTTA BE TB! Feeling much better now, thankfully! The spit is definitely a bit much!

[Boots in the Oven]

Thanks, Su-Lin! Your Beijing tips were GREAT - we loved Da Dong and the dumpling house (though it's moved - man, do things in China change rapidly)! Lots of picture uploading happening today...